[cobirds] Around western Centennial (Arapahoe)

I haven't been birding much -- just seeing what I see as I look at other things (namely the last blooms of various asters). Even so, some meaningful sightings in my yard (near Arapahoe and Centennial) and along the nearby High Line Canal and Little Dry Creek Trails.

Turkey Vultures -- kettles of two dozen or so, for several days last week and over the weekend, over my home and the High Line Canal Trail. Vultures, cranes, and nighthawks -- remarkable and uncommon enough birds that can sometimes pass by in large numbers -- always lead me to stop everything and count.

A few from the kettle along the Canal came crashing into the cottonwoods, causing passerby and me to pause and gawk.

An October Western Tanager, feeding with chickadees at a hackberry, along the High Line Canal Trail over the weekend.

Common Nighthawks, last over my neighborhood on September 28 and September 29. I was grateful for a few final sightings, as I always like having the sense that I may be experiencing my last encounter for the year. 

Migration and "winter" birds converging - This morning, in my yard, dozens of Common Grackles (there have been hundreds moving around Centennial lately), an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and a Dark-eyed Junco. I thought I spotted some other sparrow -- it struck me as not unlike a Lincoln's Sparrow -- but I may have misjudged another bird. 

Blue Jays -- Cleaning the nearby shopping center (Streets of Southglenn) of the acorns on its landscaping oaks. Barn Swallows seem gone, but a few Say's Phoebes are still hanging around the center. 

A few stray hummingbirds, species missed, hawking insects along the High Line Canal Trail on Sunday and visiting the still-blooming agastaches in my yard. The one in my yard struck me as a Black-chinned, with all the tail bobbing. 

Mammals...

Yesterday, a Bobcat, creeping along the Little Dry Creek, as I crept along the creek, too. This is my third encounter of a Bobcat this year and the first during daylight. Monday, a pair of Red Foxes howling outside my windows at 4:00 AM. Over the weekend, a Raccoon climbing out my chimney. 

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO

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